Near point tachistoscope



Nov. 15, 1955 c. w. OTT

NEAR POINT TACHISTOSCOPE Filed March 4, 1952 FACE DOG

CAT

BALL

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llllll lll United States My invention relates to a simplified hand operated near point tachistoscope which is adapted for widespread use by or under the direction of optometrists for the treatment and correction of defects of vision of the human eyes.

It is among the objects of my invention to provide such a device which is more simplified in construction and use than existing devices and which is capable of being used by the patient or trainee in his home or during his leisure time, without the presence of an optometrist or person skilled in visual training techniques.

Itis a further object of my invention to provide such a device which is more economical to manufacture, so that it may be loaned to the patient or trainee without a substantial investment or risk on the part of the owner. The manufacture of a device will further stimulate a more extensive use of the types of visual training which can be accomplished with such an instrument.

It is another object of my invention to create a near point tachistoscope comprising a panel having an opening therein, a movable slide member positioned adjacent said panel, said slide member having a view opening therein, a spring attached at one end to said panel and at its opposite end to said slide member, means for holding said slide member against the pressure of said spring and means for releasing said slide member to permit the pressure of said spring to rapidly move said slide member so that the view opening therein becomes momentarily aligned with the view opening in said panel.

My invention also comprises such other objects, advantages and capabilities as will later more fully appear and which are inherently possessed by my invention.

While I have shown in the accompanying drawings a preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that the same is susceptible of modification and change without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Referring to the drawings,

Fig. l is a front plan view of my device;

Fig. 2 is a back plan view of the same;

Fig. 3 is a rear view of the interior of the device with the back panel removed;

Fig. 4 is a view of the inside of the back panel of my device;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of my device taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a side view of my device and Fig. 7 is a front view of a target card which is adapted to be used with my device.

A tachistoscope is a device which is used by optometrists and others engaged in visual training to train the human eyes to read or understand a visual image rapidly and accurately. In order to accomplish this, the instrument must provide the trainee with a momentary or flash view of the image, which is customarily referred to as a target. It must also provide an opportunity for the trainee to checkthe accuracy of his observation and to progress in this training over a period of time.

The instruments which are now customarily used for this type of visual training are not only complicated and expensive, but require the use of a darkened room, in which the images are projected or flashed on a screen. The use of such a device necessarily requires the attendance of one skilled in the operation of the instrument and its techniques.

With my invention, I provide a tachistoscope which atent 2,723,466 Patented Nov. 15, 1955 "ice 2 is comparatively inexpensive to manufacture and simple to use, so that the trainee can be taught to use the device by himself.

This eliminates the costly investment of the instrument, the dark room and the attendance of the optometrist. With a minimum amount of instruction, the trainee can learn to use the device by himself at home, at work or during his leisure hours and thus achieve in a much shorter time the same amount of progress which could heretofore be accomplished only after many visits to the optometrist.

A preferred embodiment of my invention comprises a front panel 16 and a back panel 11, which are preferably flat pieces of metal. A spacing member 12 is attachedto front panel 10 around its outer edges to provide space between the panels to hold the operating mechanism of my device. Spacing member 12 may also be made integral with front panel 10 or back panel 11. Front panel 1%) is provided adjacent the center thereof with a rectangular view opening 13.

Attached to the inside of front panel 10 are a pair of arms 14 and 15, each of which has one of its ends pivotally attached to front panel 10 and its opposite end pivotally attached to a rectangular slide 16. Slide 16 has a rectangular view opening 17 in the center thereof, which is equal in size to view opening 13 in front panel 10.

A coil spring 18 is attached at one end to arm 15 and at the other end to the upper end of a spring control arm 19. Spring control arm 19 is pivotally attached adjacent the center thereof to the inside of front panel 10. A slot 20 extends through front panel 10, adjacent which are three small round openings 21, 22 and 23.

The lower end of spring control arm 19 is bent to extend through slot 20 and then along front panel 10 to the edge thereof. The lower portion of spring control arm 19 is provided with a round pin 24, which extends rearwardly and is adapted to fit into any one of openings 21, 22 and 23.

A stop member 25, which is preferably formed of sponge rubber, is attached to the inside of front panel 10 adjacent slot 20 and acts to limit the movement of slide 16 in a downward direction. The movement of slide 16 in an upward direction is limited by its contact with spacing member 12. The end of arm 15 which is attached to slide 16 continues beyond the edge of slide 16 and is provided with a bent portion or notch.

Front panel 19 is provided adiacent its upper left hand corner with a small opening 26. Extending through opening 26 is a slide control arm 27, which is attached to arm 14 and which extends along the outside of front panel 10. A knob 28 is attached to the lower end of slide control arm 27 to facilitate its movement by the user.

Back panel 11 is provided with a rectangular view opening 29, which corresponds in size and positioning with view opening 13 in front panel it). Mounted on the outside of back panel 11 above and below view opening 29 are a pair of card tracks 30 and 31. Card tracks 30 and 31 have portions which are parallel to and spaced slightly from back panel 11. They are adapted to hold a target card which is slidably mounted with its edges held between card tracks 30 and 31 and back panel 11.

A slide release arm 32 is attached at one end to back panel 11 and extends adjacent and parallel to card track 31. Back panel 11 is provided with a small rectangular opening 33, through which the end of slide release arm 32 extends. The end of slide release arm 32 is bent at a right angle to extend through opening 33 into the interior of my device and then extends outwardly at an acute angle.

A release knob 34 which is positioned on the outside of front panel 10 is attached to rod 35, which extends through front panel 10 and back panel 11 to contact slide release arm 32. Manual pressure on release knob 34 is adapted to move the end of slide release arm 32 outwardly from the interior of my device.

The inside of front panel and back panel 11 and the mechanism contained between them are preferably covered with felt material or flocking to avoid any scraping contact of metallic parts and to provide smooth and silent operation of my device.

In use, my device is held in an upright position, so that its longest dimension is vertical and knob 28 is in the upper left hand corner. The first step which the user takes is to move knob 28 in an upward direction. This causes arm 14 to be moved upwardly, carrying slide 16 and arm 15 with it. This movement continues until slide 16 comes into contact with spacing member 12, so that its further upward movement is prevented.

When slide 16 moves upwardly, the extended lower end of arm 15 comes into contact with the acutely angled end of slide release arm 32 and pushes slide release arm 32 outwardly until arm 15 has passed.

When knob 28 is released by the user, slide 16 is held in its upper or cocked position by the engagement of the extended lower end of arm 15 with the end of slide release arm 32. Since the extended portion of arm 15 contacts the right angle portion of the free end of slide release arm 32, it is stopped and cannot move slide release arm 32 outwardly.

The user then selects a target card and slides it into the car tracks and 31. The target card bears on it a series of targets, which may be words, phrases, paragraphs, music, airplanes or any other material which the user is being trained to read or recognize quickly and accurately. The target card is preferably provided along one of its edges with a series of index marks or numbers which correspond to and indicate the positioning of the targets on the target card.

A small circular opening 36 is provided adjacent rectangular view opening 13 in front panel 10, so that the index markings are visible to the user as the card is moved along tracks 30 and 31. Corresponding openings are provided in slide 16 and back panel 11. The target card is moved along tracks 30 and 31 until the first index mark appears through opening 35, indicating that the target is aligned with the center of view opening 13.

The user then presses release knob 34. This causes rod to exert outward pressure against slide release arm 32. This causes the free end of slide release arm 32 to move outwardly and to become disengaged from the extended lower end of arm 15. The tension of coil spring 18 then pulls slide 16 rapidly downward until its movement is blocked by stop member 25.

While slide 16 is moving in a downward direction, there is a brief period of time during which rectangular view opening 13 in front panel 10 and rectangular view opening 17 in slide 16 are in alignment. This permits the user to obtain a momentary or flash view of the target on the target card.

The length of time during which the target is visible through the view openings depends on the setting of spring control arm 19. It is preferred that the tension of spring 18 be adjusted so that the placing of pin 24 in openings 21, 22 and 23 will provide speeds of approximately ,3 m and 1 second.

The user then again moves knob 28 in an upward direction. As he does so, the target on the target card becomes easily visible through the view openings and he can check the accuracy of his observation. When slide 16 is again in cocked position, the user moves the target card until the next index marking is visible through opening 36. The device is then ready for use in the manner previously described.

The process of cocking, releasing, reading, and checking is repeated many times througha series of cards until the user has developed the desired speed and accuracy of observation. It is possible for the user to progress from simple targets to more difiicult and complex ones. For example, in developing reading speed and accuracy, the user would progress from a single word to a phrase, sentence and complete paragraph.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A near point tachistoscope comprising a front panel, a back panel spaced from said front panel and attached thereto, said front panel having a view opening therein, a pair of arms positioned between said front and back panels, each of said arms having one of its ends pivotally attached to one of said panels, a slide member positioned between said front and back panels, each of said arms having its opposite end attached to said slide member, said back panel and slide member each having a view opening therein corresponding to the view opening in said front panel, a coil spring attached at one end to one of said arms, a spring tension control rod pivotally attached to one of said panels, said spring having its opposite end attached to said spring tension control rod, said rod adapted to be pivoted to control the tension of said spring, a slide control positioned on the outside of said front panel and attached to one of said arms, said slide control adapted upon movement thereof to move said arms and slide member against the tension of said coil spring, a slide release having one end attached to one of said panels and its opposite free end extending between said front and back panels, the free end of said slide release adapted upon movement of said slide member to engage and hold one of said arms, holding said slide member against the tension of said spring, and a release control adapted to remove the free end of said slide release from engagement with said arm, to permit the tension of said spring to rapidly move said slide member so that the view opening in said slide member becomes momentarily aligned with the view openings in said front and back panels, said back panel having means thereon adapted to hold a target which becomes momentarily visible during the alignment of said view openings.

2. A near point tachistoscope comprising a front panel, a back panel spaced from said front panel and attached thereto, said front panel having a view opening therein, a pair of arms positioned between said front and back panels, each of said arms having one of its ends pivotally attached to one of said panels, a slide member positioned between said front and back panels, each of said arms having its opposite end attached to said slide member, said back panel and slide member each having a view opening therein, a coil spring attached at one end to one of said arms and at its opposite end to one of said panels, a slide control positioned on the outside of said front panel and attached to one of said arms, said slide control adapted upon movement thereof to move said arms and slide member against the tension of said coil spring, a slide release having one end attached to one of said panels and its opposite free end extending between said front and back panels, the free end of said slide release adapted upon movement of said slide member to engage and hold one of said arms, holding said slide member against the tension of said spring, and a release control adapted to remove the free end of said slide release from engagement with said arm, to permit the tension of said spring to rapidly move said slide member so that the view opening in said slide member becomes momentarily aligned with the view openings in said front and back panels.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 20,223 Taylor Dec. 19, 1936 372,857 Lewis Nov. 8, 1887 973,021 Fisk Oct. 18, 1910 2,252,726 Peck Aug. 19, 1941 2,328,677 Ringer Sept. 7, 1943 2,647,329 Block Aug. 4, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 318,524 France May 20, 1903 

